Death Ringing
by Jedi Master Bag
Summary: Raito's mind is plagued by the sound of bells, bells only he can hear. In a hope to make them stop, he heads back to the original task force building the day before he meets with Near. The day before the end of the Kira case.


Disclaimer: I, sadly, am not the owner of Raito and Matsuda

**Death Ringing**

**January 26****th****, 2010**

He'd been hearing them for the past week. They were an endless ringing throughout his mind, drumming at a constant interval, going off every second. At first, the echo had been nothing more then a whisper, barely detectible through the buzz and hum of his ever calculating mind. But as the days had passed, the sound had grown, in volume and in power. He could no longer ignore it.

Standing before the window to his apartment, Raito thought to himself as he overlooked the skyline. The city beneath him glowed brightly with neon, and it shined in the white moon light. The drone of the computer monitors behind him reverberated through the air, adding mechanical warmth to his skin. Raito let his eye lids drop slowly, and he leaned his forehead against the large glass window pain. A soft sigh escaped through his lips.

_'I can't let this go on,_' he thought wearily, _'not when I'm so close.'_

Making his decision, Raito reached into the pocket of his jeans, extracting his cell phone. Dialing quickly, he set the phone to his ear and awaited an answer from the other end.

"Raito-Kun! How are you?" Raito smiled at the chipper answer.

"Hey Matsuda, I need a favor."

(T)

**January 27****th****, 2010**

"You know, I was surprised when you called me."

Raito looked over from the passenger seat, to Matsuda, who was currently maneuvering through the traffic of Shinjuku.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be in contact with anyone. We all thought you might just be relaxing, especially before tomorrow."

Raito hummed softly. "I just needed to do this."

"I know what you mean, but why'd you decide to make me give you a ride?" Matsuda glanced at Raito quickly.

"I figured you'd be the only one to understand." Raito gently massaged the temple of his forehead. Eyes shut; he tried not to focus on the ringing in his mind, and instead listen to the engine of Matsuda's car.

"Are you okay?" Matsuda asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, just have a headache."

Looking closely at the younger man from the corner of his eye, Matsuda couldn't help but notice his haggard appearance. He was lacking the usual confidence he carried with him everywhere. And Matsuda could see the beginnings of dark circles beneath his eyes.

Anyone would be anxious, given what was to come the next day, but this wasn't like Raito. He wasn't one to dwell on the past. Something was bothering Raito, and Matsuda suspected that it had something to do with the late, greatest detective in the world.

(T)

Matsuda pulled into a parking space, just before the buildings main door. He looked up at it through the car window. It looked even taller then he remembered it being. The concrete structure loomed before him, casting a shadow overhead in the setting of the sun.

He knew the building was empty, and yet, he couldn't help but feel a chill at the memories that lurked with in. Memories that could finally be put to rest, ending the day after next.

Matsuda unbuckled his seat belt and made to open the door, stopping when he saw Raito hunched over next to him.

The younger detective was breathing deeply, clenching tightly at his head. Matsuda reached his hand out, and slowly grasped Raito's shoulder, causing the boy to jump, head snapping. Amber eyes locked with Matsuda's dark brown.

Tentatively, Matsuda asked, "Are we going inside?"

"What," The boy blinked rapidly at him. "Oh, yes. Yes we are."

With that, Raito got out of the car and walked to the sidewalk. Leaving a concerned Matsuda in the car to watch as Raito walked to the glass door, from the plush leather driver's seat.

Stepping from the car, Matsuda walked up to Raito. Meeting him at the door just as it clicked open.

He heard a sigh come from Raito, the boy's hand wrapped around the door handle. Watching quietly, he let Raito pull the door open, and they walked into the lobby of the old task force headquarters.

(T)

Walking through the building, Raito couldn't help but wonder what he was doing there. He didn't know what he had been expecting to happen. He knew it was unreasonable to suppose the ringing in his mind would end the moment he stepped inside. Being back inside the old building had done quite the opposite to him in fact, serving only to amplify the senseless sound within his mind. It was deafening now, and distracting.

Letting his feet carry him wherever, Raito wound his way through the familiar hallways. His fingers gently ran across the walls as he walked on.

Taking turns he felt at random, he walked deeper into the building.

He could feel Matsuda's eyes on him, following at a distance. With each step he took the ringing grew louder. Inaudibly, Raito continued foreword, going through the maze of corridors, trying his best to ignore the echo within his brain. It was futile he knew, but he was becoming more distressed with every step he took.

He needed the ringing to cease, he needed his mind to clear. The endless noise was becoming unbearable. He was _so_ close to his goal, so close to a perfect world. The booming sound, trapped within his mind, was all that stood in his way.

There was no way he could make it stop.

Raito was so lost within the endless ringing, he failed to notice where he had lead Matsuda; he forgot the man was even there. He stood in the middle of the task forces prior command center.

Not realizing where exactly he stood in the building, Raito felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hands.

Glancing down, Raito found himself gripping at the back of a cool metal swivel chair. His knuckles were white as he stared at his hands.

"You know, I didn't think we'd be able to get in here."

Whipping around, Raito turned to face Matsuda.

"What?'

"I didn't think we'd be able to get in here." Matsuda repeated.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I was surprised by how easy it was as well."

Turning back around, Raito heard Matsuda exclaim, "Everything's easy for you Raito-Kun!"

Sighing to himself, Raito looked at the dust covered monitors that had been out of use for the past couple of years. Looking into the black screens, he felt the ringing within his mind resound through his entire body. And then, he knew where he needed to go.

He took off at a run.

"Raito-Kun! Where are you going?"

Leaving Matsuda behind, Raito flew through the halls. He leapt up the many staircases, and bound his way through the building to the rooftop. The ringing that continued to echo through his mind spurred him foreword. And he burst through the door, stumbling out onto the roof of the task force building.

Walking quickly, Raito made his way to the edge of the building. He clutched the railing tightly. Eyes squinted shut in pain, he shook as the ringing escalated within his mind, bounding off the corners of his psyche.

'_Why won't it _stop_?'_ He thought frantically. The pain was excruciating. He couldn't think, he needed the noise to stop, to be left with nothing but pure uninterrupted silence. _'What is up with this god damn ringing?'_ He thought angrily. _'I don't need this now!'_

Raito feel to his knees, head falling against the metal he hung so desperately on to. The ringing was at its worst, thunderous and deafening, it was the loudest it had ever been. He felt each sound wave vibrate through his skull, splitting his head open with every wave it took. Like claps of thunder in a storm, contained within his head.

There had to be a reason for it, he refused to be brought to insanity at the hand of a ringing sound that only he could hear. There _had_ to be a reason for it.

And then he knew.

He could sense Matsuda staring at him in concern from the doorway he'd burst through only moments ago.

"Raito-Kun, what's wrong? What are you doing out here?"

Straightening up at the question, Raito looked up to the sunset, watching as the clouds began to roll in. Taking a deep breath, he whispered aloud:

"I hear them too."

End

A/N) This was just a scene I had in my head for a while, and I just sat down and decided to write it out. I hope you enjoyed it!

The Jedi


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